Automatic feed for wrapping machines



May 30; 1933. E. L. SMITH AUTOMATIC FEED FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed May15, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 30, 1933. E. l.. SMITH AUTOMATIC FEED FORWRAPPING MACHINES Filed May 15, "1930 A 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 EN T0 w BY wmZ. J/r/rf/ 7'/ ZM A TTORNEYS.

May 30, `19333 E l.. SMITH I 1 1,911,650 lAinoimxc Fasi) Fon. WRAPPING`MACHINES l Y l Filed nay 15. 195o 5 sheepsshe't 5' J' l43' './f

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Patented Mayso, 1933 UNITED.; STATES EINER L. SEITE, F IQONGLIEADOW,MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 IPAGKAG'Il l IACHINERY COMPANY, SPRINGFIELD,MASSACHUSETTS, A O0RPORATION- OF IASSACHUBETTS Uromvrrc FEED ronwaiirrnve` mcnnms Application led lay 15,

This invention relates -to mechanism for feeding .singly 'to a wrappingmachine or other article treating devices a succession of articles suchas cigars. `Cigars are generally pressed fin layers of fifteen ortwentyiive and it is one object of this invention to permit-these layersto be stacked manually in a magazine, fed' from the magazine one layerat a time, and delivered'to the wrapy ping 'machine in individualsuccession. A

further object of the invention is to prevent any displacement of thecigars during their f transit from the magazine to the point at whichthey are delivered to the wrapping 16 mechanism A further object is tofee the cigars individually in a downward direc,- Ytion into pockets in-a revolving disk, the pockets having at least one slanting end so thatthe cigars are automatically located 20.in the correct position. Afurther object of the invention 1s to stop the feeding of the cigars tothe wrapping mechanism in the event that there is abreak inthecontinuity with which the cigars are being fed from the magazine. Afurtherobject isl to improve generally upon the type of cigar i'c'eed-`ing mechanism illustrated and described in the application of FrederickGrover, filed May 12, 1930, Serial No.451,688.

In accordance with these 4objects the Cinvent/ion consists generally ina magazine fromwhich layers of cigars are forced bodily, one layer at atime, by a plunger. The cigars are received'from the plunger upon- A anelevated table which descends after the deliveryof a layer thereto, soIthat the layer .of cigars is deposited upon a pair of parallelflat-backed chains, in this case composed ofchains pf theso-calledsilent type which '40 have been found to be excellent for thispursecond chain. similar to the first extends 193e. semi no. 452,682.

above it so that the cigars are held against movement during the1rtransit along the chains. At the end of the chains the ci ars aredelivered in single -iile to guide inem rs along which the are fed bythe pressure of the cigars behin them. Normally the leading clgarY ofthe file strikes a stationary abutment and is then in position to begrasped by opposed plungers yand carried intol the pocket of the feedingdisk of a cigar wrapping machine of the t pe shown in my priorapplication Serial N52. 424,998, filed January 31, 1930. A stopmechanism is provided so that if the continuity of the single` ile ofcigars is broken one of the opposed plungers willl be held stationary inapositionwhere it blocks further advance of the ple of cigars andprevents any further de ivery of cigars to the feeding disk untilcontinuity is again restored.`

' Referring to the drawings Y Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a cigarfeedinm'achine embodying my invention;

ig.\2 is a, fra mentary section thereof illustrating the dehvery end ofthe machine; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the machine; Fig. 4 is asection on line 4 4 ofnFig. 3;v

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5' of Fig. 4; 4 gig. 6'is a section online 6-'6 'of Fig. 3'; an v Fig. 7 is a section on line 7-'7of Fig. 4.Figs. 8 and 9 represent detail views of a. spring pressed plunger,article stop mechay msm.

The description of the machine will'start with-the magazine in which thecigars are initially stacked by hand or by other suitv able means. Themachine ,is supported i viipon a framej 10 to which a magazine supportinbracket 11 is secured. A plate 12 85 carrie upon this bracket formsthebottom of a cigar magazine, the ends ofV which are. formedfby uprightpieces 13, The front plate 14 of the ma azine is held in place. atl an/adjustable e evation by screwsf15 passing through slots 16 yin the frontplate and into threaded holes in the uprights. The back 17 is madereadily removable so that the cigars may be placed within the 5 magazinein orderly layers. To facilitate the loading of the magazine a rearbracket 18 is secured to the bracket 11 and carries on lits top aloading table 19. This table as well as the rear upright members arepreferable made adjustable to accommodate cigars `o f differentdimensions.

j yTo force the bottom layerQJ of cigars out of the space between, theplate 12 and the bottom of the front plate 14 a reciprocating plunger isprovided. Uponfsupports 2O eX- tending from the bracket 11 are ways 21in which run rack slides 22 carrying a pusher carriage 23. A pusherplate24 provided with a head 25 is secured to this carriage.

To slide the carriage back and forth in the ways the rack slides22 areprovided with teeth 26 meshing with pinions 27 fast upon `a shaft 28which is journaled in bearings 29. A pinion 30 upon this shaft mesheswith a rack 31 held in position by a guide 32 and pivoted at 33 to theend of a crank member 34v swung at 35 upon the frame.l

The crank is formed with a slideway 36 in which reciprocates a block 37pivotally `mounted upon a disk 38 secured to a shaft 39; At the otherend of this shaft is a worm wheel 40 meshing with a worm 41 upon acrossshaft 42 which, in my preferred embodiment of the machine, isdriven in any suitable manner `from the cooperating wrapping machine sothat it rotates in timed Y relation therewith.

As the cigars are fed from`the magazine by the plunger they areprevented from 4 over-travel by an abutment 43 formed on /the frame. Inthis position the cigars are received upon ltable members 44 carriedupon .brackets 45 pivotally mounted ati46 (Fig. 5) to similar arms of apair of identilcal bell cranks 47 mounted on rock shafts 448. The otherarms of these bell cranks are joined by a link 49 so that they move inunison and provide a parallel motion for the table members 44. One o fthe shafts 48 has fixed to it an arm 50 (Fig. 1) ,pro-

vided at its end with a roll coacting with a crown cam 51 securedto theshaft 39. The plates are thus'caused to move in timed relation with theplunger which'forces the layers of cigars from the magazine, and the cam51 is so designed that the plates will remain in their elevated positionduring the entire 'bntward vmovement of the plunger and will thendescend to drop the\layer of cigars upon the chain conveyer.

A pair of chains-55 having their 'upper run passing over a'plate 56 topreserve accuratealignment pass at one end around sprockets 57 securedon a. shaft 58. Thls shaft carried in brackets 59 adjustably vat its enda roll cooperating with a disk mounted on studs 60 projecting from thepreviously mentioned. These chains are given a continuous movement at arelatively ow speed so that the cigars will be fed as fast as isrequired for delivery to the Wrapping machine.

In order to revent the cigars turning or becoming disp aced while'theyare on the chains, an upper chain.65 is preferably provided, positionedabove and between the two lower chains. At one end this chain passesaround a sprocket 66 (Fig. 1) secured to a shaft 67. A second sprocket68 on this shaft is joined by a chain 69 with a sprocket 70 on the crossshaft'42. The sprocket sizes are so chosen that the upper chainmoves atthe same surface speed yas lthe two lower, chains.

A tension roll 71 of the usual form is pro-l vided to maintain the chain69 in proper condition. The upper run of thel chain passes over asupport plate 72 suitably mounted upon the frame, in order to prevent itfrom coming in contact with other parts; and at the other end the chainpasses around a sprocket 73 mounted upon an idle shaft 74. Both theupper chain and the two lower chains are preferably made of the silentconstruction common in power drives; although this form of chain isutilized here primarily neither for its power transmission ynor itssilent qualities, but because the back of the chain is substantiallyfiat and thus supports the cigarswithout the necessity of providingspeciai backs for the links of the chain. v

At the delivery end of the chains the cigars pass as shown in Fig. 2onto a bottom support 75 and under a top plate 76, the cigars beingforced onwardly -by theV lpo l pressure df the cigars behind them untilthey strike a stop plate 75l. The foremost cigar' of the file is thusheld directly under an, upper plunger 78 (shown depressed in Fig. 2),vadjustably secured by a bolt 79 upon a plunger carrier 80. This carrier1s plvoted at 81 to a lever 82 fast upon a rock shaft 83. The carririsalso pivoted at 84` to a link 85 extending from a fixed pivot 86 toprovide a parallel motion. An arm -87 extends from the rock shaft 83andcarries cam 88 mounted upon the cross shaft 42. A

second arm 89 (Fig. 1). projects from the4 rock shaft and is'joined byaA spring 90 with a fixed part of the machine in order t o hold' the camroll normally against the perlphery of thegcam. u

Cooperating with thepper plunger 1s a lower plunger 91 having upon-itsupper. sur-, face 'spring pressed pads 92 so that the clgars may begrasped between the two plungers without `injury irrespective of minor`variations in size. The lower plunger is carried upon the end of a lever93 pivoted at 94 to the frame and having a roll 95 cooperatin with a cam(not shown in the drawings upon the shaft 42. A spring, which has alsovbeen omitted from the drawings, may be provided to hold the roll incontact with the cam in the usual manner.

The present machine has been designed for use withla cigar wrappingmachine preferably of thev type shown in my prior application No.424,998. Only a fragment of this machine has been shown as it isunnecessary to an' understanding of my present invention. The frame lofthe machine is indicated at 96 and is joined to the frame 10 by a dowelor shaft 97. Intermittently rotat ing upon the wrapping machine frame isa disk 98having pockets 99 spaced about its periphery and correspondingin shape with a cigar. The frame 96 is provided with an aperture 100with which` the pockets 99 in the disk register successively 'as thedisk .is

moved with a step-by-step motiqn.

It is desirable to insure accurate centering ofthe cigars beforetheycome into thel range of the upper and lower plungers, as alongitudinal displacement of a cigar would disturb its proper alignmentwith the pocket of the wrapping machine. For this purpose I haveprovided centering plates 101 (Fig. 3), one at either side of thechannel formed between the plates 75 and 76. Each plate is adjustablysecured as at 102 to-an arm 103 pivoted at 104 to the frame and havingan adjustable stop' 105 to limit the motion of the plates toward eachother. A spring 106 constantly urges the plates toward each other so`that they 'always tend. unless otherwise restrained, to rest with theirstops 105 against the fixed abutments on the frame. In order to give tothe centering plates' a periodical movement with a minimum of workingparts I prefer to bend the righthand end of the arms 103. as viewed inFig. 3, inwardly, and to provide rollers 107. one

yon the arm 89 and the other on the arm 87. so

2) is rigidly secured to 'the shaft 83 which actuates the `upper plungerand is provided with a notched plate 109. Cooperating with the notch inthis plate is a blade pivot'- ally mounted upon a rock shaft 111. Alsosecured to this rock shaft are feelers 112,

'place along the line 117.

one extendingl at each side of the path` of the conveyers 55 as shown inFig. 3. Asto arm 114- (Fig. 1) extends from the roc shaft rand normallyabuts a .stop- 115 on the frame, the rock shaftl with its attached partsbeing held yieldably in this position by a spring 113. As long as cigarsare continuously passin 112 will be lgield in the dotte line position ofFig: 2. In this position the blade.110 does not interfere with the freemotion of the shaft 83. If, however, there is a break in the continuityof the file of cigars the feeler will be allowed to snap" intothe fullline position. In this case the blade 110 is directly opposite the notchiiiplate 109.. As the roller on the end of-arm 87 passes oithe highpoint of cam 88-the upper plunger 78 would normal] Itend to rise underthe iniiuence of the spring 90. Such motion 'is',hovv ever, preventeddiythe contact of the blade 110 with the notchedI plate 109. The Cparts areso proportioned, however, that upon the next rotation of thel cam theplate 109 will be moved from the blade a suicient distance to permit theblade to snap awa \if acigar has in the meantime arrived" undserneaththe feeler 112. 'It will be noted that the upper plunger remains in itslowermostv position whenever the 'feeler is heldin the full line alongthe vconve ers the feeler position. The feeding b the plunger 'ofalsoshall have a stop mechanism so that if no cigar is'delivered intothepockets -99 no wrapping material will be fed and thus waste will beprevented.

As previously mentioned, the machine is designed for use of cigars ofdifferent diamics eters and the magazine is made adjustable for thisreason. A further capacity for change is also provided for,Y so that themachine may accommodate either alternate layers of twelve and thirteen.or regular layers of twenty-live cigars. For this purpose the frame 10is split at'116 and 117. If it is desired to add a magazine of differentwidth the frame extending to the right in Fig. 1

beyond the split 116 can be removed, a-

longer chain 55 substituted and the enlargement accommodated by the meresubstitu tion 'of a wider plunger plate 24 and the wider magazine. Itmay also be desirable to operate the machine without a magazine,

thefcigars being fed either by hand or directly from a banding machine.In this case the frame may be taken apart along the line 117,'a. shorter'chain substituted, and the bracket holding thelshaft 58 bolted in It isalso preferred to provide/the pockets 99 in the disk 98 withy one bevelside 120 (Fig. 6) so that the cigars whenA placed minor variations inthe lengths of the cigars.v

Within the pocket will always be forced toward the straight end df thepocket, irrespective of minor differences in cigar lengths. The bottomsof the pocket are Generally open but are providedwith short ledges 121atthe sides upon which the ends of the cigar may rest without, however,intcrfering with the operation of the'upper and lower plungers.

In order to prevent any possibility of the cigars rollin over as theyare presented to the plunger g8, I may use the modified mechanicalconstruction shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The fixed abutment 77 has in thisinstance been replaced by a plate 130 carried on a rod 131 adjustablyheld by a set screw 132' in a fixed bracket 133. Pivoted at 134 tothisbrackct is an arm 135 having a projecting ng'er portion 136extending through slots in both the plate 130 and the upper plunger 78to contact with the leading cigar of the file. The finger is constantlyurged towards the cigars by a spring 137 strained between the bracket133 andran arm 138y secured to the arm 135. The tension exerted by thespring is sufficient to hold the leading cigar from rolling over, butnot (enough to prevent it from being pushed ahead b the pressureI of thefile behind it.

What I claim is: 1. A feeding device for cigars or similar karticleswhich comprises a pair of endless conveyers, one positioned above theother to form between them a feedin file of articles, a stop -agalnstwhich the articles are delivered' by the conveyers, aV

- to feed the articles successively out of said file, and meansresponsive to an interruption in the continuity of the file for holdingthe plunger inactive and in position to block further movement of thefile of articles.

'3. A feeding device for cigars or similarA articles comprising anintermittently rotat- -able disk provided with through pockets,

each pocket having one beveled end and one straight end and ledges forholding a cigar therein, and means for depositing cigars singly andsuccessively in the top of said pockets whereby the cigars will beposichannel for a 4. A 'feeding device for cigars or similar articlescomprising an intermittently rotat- -able disk provided with throughpockets,

each pocket having one beveled end and one Astraight end and ledges forholding a cigar therein, means fordelivering cigars successively to apoint immediately above. that at which the disk pockets come to rest,and a pair of plungers coordinated to grasp the cigars and lower theminto the pockets, the lower of the plungers being narrower than thespace between the pocket ledges so that it may pass through each pocketin succession.

5. A feeding device as'claimed in claim 4,

having movable members for aligning the` cigars as they are deliveredinto position to be grasped by the plungers, and-mechanism operated. bythe plungers for moving the members towards and from each other.

6., A feeding devicefor cigars or similar articles which comprises apair` of endless conveyers, one positioned above the other to formbetween them a feeding channel for a file of articles, a stationary stoppositioned beyond the conveyers against which the articles are deliveredby the pressure of the articles being fed forward by the conveyers, aspring pressed plungeradapted to receive an article prior to its contactwith the stop and to ease it into such contact without permitting it toroll over, and means for removing the article from its position againstthe stop.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my e signature.

ELMER L. SMITH.l

